A “grand” day out for MPs

Please note this article was originally posted on 03/09/09

The MP for the West Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Constituency of St Ives will today (Thursday 3rd September 2009) travel the 6½ hour and 240 mile round trip by train from Penzance to Exeter for today’s 2½ hour first South West ‘Regional Grand’ Committee at Devon’s County Hall commencing at 10.30 am. MPs will gather in what is anticipated to be an experimental measure. After a 45 minute question session with the Minister for the South West – Rt. Hon Jim Knight MP – there will then be a debate on the subject of considering the ‘response to the economic downturn:  tackling unemployment’.

Mr George said, “This is a ‘grand’ name for a Committee which covers a fictitious region. The Government Zone of the South West was created for administrative convenience, not in response to the political will of the people. In the absence of any political accountability for the work of the Government agencies which operate in the Government zone, I suspect that this event will merely expose it as a rather pointless sop.

“However, I will go along and do my best. But I’m not optimistic that it will do any good.”